Disinfecting Piano: ( Sorry Bill, but "bleach" might not be such a good idea.)

[Euphonious Thumpe]

Not if it's chlorine-based, anyway. ( Hydrogen-peroxide might be OK, but if you're Super-Cleaning(TM) the keybed, frames, etc. that will kill all the germs, anyway. I'd clean all the direct-contact stuff with that, then blast trhe remainder with naptha ona  piano not TOO filthy, that I deemed "salvageable". ) 
     But you'll STILL have a stinky piano, just from "odor-creep", 
on pianos that are rodent-infested in any way.  
     I tried chlorine bleach, once, and 6 months later, great globs of rust were all over the keypins, strings, etc.. Chlorine bleach is extremely reactive, and the chlorine gas which helps comprise t gets into, and then seeps out of, all sorts of materials.

Euphonious Thumpe


--- On Mon, 9/15/08, Willem Blees <wimblees at aol.com> wrote:

> From: Willem Blees <wimblees at aol.com>
> Subject: Re: Disinfecting Piano
> To: hardman at hiwaay.net, pianotech at ptg.org
> Date: Monday, September 15, 2008, 4:09 PM
> Wes
> 
> First of all, wear plastic gloves and a face mask when
> cleaning the piano. 
> 
> I would use a cleaning liquid that contains bleach. After
> sucking up the big stuff, (and throwing away the bag), spray
> the areas effected, and clean it thoroughly with rags. If
> the area is under the keys, and the punchings are
> contaminated,?I would throw them away, and install new ones.
> If the area is under the trap system, Remove the levers, and
> thoroughly clean the bottom board. You should also clean off
> the screws and trap system with steel wool. 
> 
> All of this, of course, involves more than just cleaning.
> You'll have to do some regulating, etc.?
> 
> I don't know how bad it is, but I would charge a
> minimum of $250, plus regulation, tuning, etc. 
> 
> Good luck.
> 
> 
> Willem (Wim) Blees, RPT
> Piano Tuner/Technician
> Honolulu, HI
> 808-349-2943
> www.bleespiano.com
> Author of 
> The Business of Piano Tuning
> available from Potter Press
> www.pianotuning.com
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Wesley Hardman <hardman at hiwaay.net>
> To: Pianotech List <pianotech at ptg.org>
> Sent: Mon, 15 Sep 2008 9:44 am
> Subject: Disinfecting Piano
> 
> 
> 
> List,
> 
> ?
> 
> I'm sure this has been addressed in the past, but?what
> can be used to effectively?disinfect a rat-infested piano,
> particularly one in which a couple of dead rats, rat beds,
> droppings, etc.?have been removed?
> 
> ?
> 
> Wesley Hardman
> 
> Alabama
> 
> ?
> 
> ?